Cat Street Strut

It is actually called Upper Lascar Row, but no one calls it that. It is Cat Street in Hong Kong. And it comes with a slightly shady past. In ancient Cantonese, thieves were rats, and those who dealt with them cats, and so the name stuck.

It is a collection of stalls and shops laden with ceramics, Buddhas (both laughing and of other temperament) knives, erotica, stamps, charms, clocks, and of course, a small army of Maoist tchotchkes. It still retains an air of jumbled authenticity, even if the coins and jades aren’t necessarily from the dynasty they claim.

Located in the Mid Levels on Hong Kong Island, Cat Street is a pedestrian thoroughfare that runs parallel to the much more organized and expensive array of antique emporiums that is Hollywood Road.

The variety of merchandise, the sheer volume of the antiques, and the aggressively inviting shop and stall owners is enough to take you back to a time when pickpockets trolled the alleys and markets and pirates plied the seas; all intersecting here in Hong Kong.

Bring your wallet, curiosity, and a sense of wonder. You may find that deal of a lifetime or just the experience of one.